Metalocalypse
Metalocalypse is the 17th Williams Street swim Original series. It was created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha, and has a runtime of 11 minutes (With few exceptions) Metalocalypse is a parody of Death Metal culture, it combines dark comedy and Apocalyptic intrigue in following the exploits of the part-American/part-Scandinavian death metal band Dethklok. The band enjoys a popularity level unheard of in reality, ranking just above Belgium as the twelfth largest economy on Earth. They are so popular that impressionable fans will often do anything their songs tell them, even if it means death, which is usually the case. If Dethklok endorses a product or service, it quickly drives every competitor out of business. The term "Metalocalypse" refers to a mystical prophecy relating to a worldwide Apocalyptic event, which the band is predicted to usher in via their Metal music and reckless and frivolous association of evil Underworld forces in their music and lifestyle. The band's unnatural popularity and trail of destruction has attracted the attention of an Illuminati-style group, known as "The Tribunal," which is dedicated to monitoring Dethklok's activity and preventing them from becoming too powerful; typically, episodes involve the Tribunal attempting to maintain and perpetuate public ignorance and rampant consumerism whenever Dethklok's antics inadvertently threaten to upset it. It's produced by Williams Street and Titmouse with executive producers Keith Crofford and Mike Lazzo. History As Home Movies had ended its run in 2004, Brendon Small started hanging out with writer friend Tommy Blacha. They went to metal shows around the same time they were both trying to pitch shows to different networks. This was how they came up with the idea of doing a show about a metal band that was 100 times more popular than The Beatles. They came up with the storyline, wrote a theme song and had friend Jon Schnepp design the characters. The series was originally called Deathclock, but the name could not be used due to an existing trademark. The show and the main characters' band were then renamed Dethklok. The show's title was then extended to Dethklok Metalocalypse, although the starring band still retained the name Dethklok. The title was finally shortened to Metalocalypse because the extended show title was too complicated. They pitched the show to Adult Swim, which was greenlighted in 2005 with a 20-episode contract. Behind the Scenes Cast and Crew Regular Cast *'Brendon Small': Nathan Explosion, Skwisgaar Skwigelf, Pickles, Charles Foster Ofdensen, Various other characters *'Tommy Blacha': Toki Wartooth, William Murderface, Dr. Rockzo, Various other characters *'Mark Hamill': Senator Stampingston, Mr. Selatcia, Jean-Pierre, News Anchor, Various other characters *'Victor Brandt': General Crozier, Cardinal Ravenwood, News Anchor, Various other characters *'Malcolm McDowell': Vater Orlaag, News Anchor, Various other characters Guest stars * Laraine Newman ("The Curse of Dethklok") – "News Reporter," "Grandma," "GMILF," ("Dethfam") – "Rose Explosion", "Pickles' Mom," "Skwisgaar's Mom" ("Deth Wedding") - "Pickles' Mom" ("P.R. Klok") - "Liz Bane" ("Dethcarraldo") - "Nathan's Grandma" ("Klokblocked") - "Celebrity Gossip Show Host" * Jon Schnepp ("Birthdayface) - "Dr. Gibbits," ("Skwisklok") – "Video Director," ("Dethrace") - "Dr. Gibbits" * Laura Silverman ("Girlfriendklok") – "Rebecca Nightrod," ("Dethstars") * Andy Richter ("Dethstars") – "J.F. Amarth" * Richard Christy ("Dethgov") - "Governor Kip Slaughter" * Brian Posehn ("Dethsources") - "Melward Fjordslorn" Musician cameos Characters Dethklok *'Nathan Explosion' is the frontman, lead vocalist and "lyrical visionary" of Dethklok. Portrayed as a tall figure, with long black hair and black fingernails, Nathan always speaks in a deep, gravelly voice, even when not singing. He is apparently the lead songwriting force in Dethklok, and uses violent imagery or plot elements when writing and composing song material. *'Skwisgaar Skwigelf' is Dethklok's lead guitarist. He plays a Gibson Explorer, which he often carries even when not playing. Hailing from Sweden, Skwisgaar possesses a heavy Swedish accent. He is responsible for the majority of the arrangement of Dethklok's songs, writing both the guitar lines as well as Murderface's bass lines. *'Toki Wartooth'is Dethklok's rhythm guitarist. He typically plays a Gibson Flying V. A native of Norway, he has a distinct whisker-like style of mustache known as the Fu Manchu, long brown hair and very pale blue eyes. *'Pickles' is Dethklok's drummer. He was raised in Tomahawk, Wisconsin and speaks with a Yooper dialect. He refers to himself as "very Irish American" and has red hair, styled into dreadlocks and a comb-over skullet. He is depicted as having an average build with a slight beer belly. *'William Murderface' is Dethklok's bassist. He plays a Gibson Thunderbird Studio 5-string. He has brown hair, lime green eyes, a heavy lateral lisp and a diastema. Murderface's father killed his wife with a chainsaw before turning it upon himself in a grisly murder-suicide. Murderface is "a self-hating bass player who's always trying to act like he's more important than he is," in part because his bass playing is usually mixed out completely. Dethklok employees *'Charles Foster Ofdensen' is Dethklok's manager, legal counsel, and CFO, the latter also incidentally being his initials. He acts as the voice of reason against Dethklok's constant disregard of law and logic. He acts as manager, lawyer, and advisor to Dethklok, protecting the band against everything from slowing record sales to themselves. Ofdensen is one of the few individuals seen to interact with Dethklok for any significant length of time and evade subsequent mutilation or death. *'The Klokateers' are the brutal overseers of the band's various properties and the roadies for their concerts. They all wear black hoods and black uniforms, and in general resemble medieval executioners; however, certain members dress differently when necessary, such as the pilot of Dethklok's helicopter (the "hatredcopter"), whom the band wrote a song about. *'Jean-Pierre' is Dethklok's stereotypical French chef, the most recent in a long line to cater to the band. He was mangled in a helicopter blade accident, but was sewn back together poorly and put back to work (which he met with enthusiasm.) *'Dick "Magic Ears" Knubbler' is Dethklok's music producer. He was first sent by the tribunal to monitor an album recording, but Dethkloks music convinced him to turn on them. *'Dethklok's Doctor' is an unnamed doctor dethklok meet at various points in the series. The doctor usually does whatever Dethklok asks, despite the fact that they ask him to do things any ordinary doctor would never consider. He often insults them. The Tribunal *'Senator Stampingston' *'General Crozier ' *'Cardinal Ravenwood' *'Vater Orlaag' *'Mr. Selatcia ' The Revengencers *''' *''' *''' Other *'Dr. Rockzo' Is a self described Rock and Roll Clown who does cocaine. He dresses in a psychedelic metal clown suit, and talks in a high pitched voice. He befriends Toki, and is later hired by the Tribunal. Rockzo has made a transformation to sobriety and was known as Cleanzo, but quickly went back to doing many drugs. Episode Mechanics Intro Outro Episodes Season 1 Season 1 aired from August 6th, 2006 to December 17th, 2006. The season fully introduced the main characters, themes, and plot of the show. The plot of the show came to a cliffhanger when the "Metalocalypse" prophecy had apparently begun. Season 2 Season 2 aired from September 23rd, 2007 to September 7th, 2008. The season began without fully continuing on the prophecy beginning, except exploring what happened to the Tribunal Members in a subplot. The rest of the season followed the suit of Season 1. 2 several month long hiatus' split the season into 3 seperate runs, due to crew involvement in the Dethtour. The season featured the first 30 minute long episodes, one being the season hiatus return premiere, the other being the season finale. DVD Release Soundtracks The Dethalbum was released on September 25, 2007, in both standard and deluxe editions. The album is a combination of full length tracks from the series and completely new songs. The album debuted at #21 on the Billboard 200 chart with 33,741 copies sold in its first week. The Dethalbum was also streamed 45,000 times when it went live on AOL Music during the week of its release. Merchandise Endorsements (left) and Tommy Blacha (right) in a guitar showroom.]] Dethklok, the in-show band, also endorses several real-world music products, including Krank Amplification, Gibson Guitar Corporation|Gibson guitars, EMG, Inc., David Eden Amplification, Universal Audio, M-Audio, Dunlop Manufacturing/MXR, and Line 6 gear. The song "Hatredcopter", can be found on the European release of the ''Saw III'' soundtrack. According to the official Dethklok MySpace, the Gibson Guitar Corporation was also planning on making a Dethklok signature guitar. The song "Thunderhorse" is featured in the game Guitar Hero II by Harmonix and Red Octane as a bonus song. During the 2008 Winter NAMM convention in the U.S., Epiphone displayed a custom signature Explorer guitar. The Dethtour Dethklok does have a touring band, although there are no actual human counterparts to the characters on the show. The band consists of show co-creator, vocalist & lead guitarist Brendon Small, who writes & sings most of the music for the show, alongside drummer Gene Hoglan, bassist Bryan Beller, and rhythm guitarist Mike Keneally. Dethklok toured with Chimaira and Soilent Green during June and early July 2008. Trivia External links * Metalocalypse on Adult Swim * Metalocalypse Game - Deth Toll on Adult Swim UK * Brendon Small's website * Metalocalypse Central Category:MetalocalypseCategory:Television Series